Sapphire Flame (Sapphire Wings Book 3)

I highly doubt that anyone in the modern world believes in love at first sight anymore. If you’d asked me before I went to Florida and met Missy, I probably would have told you that I didn’t.

Yet I can say with absolute certainty that I did indeed experience that with Missy. I’ve often mused over that fact, especially after what happened with my daughter and nephew with their spouses years later. Perhaps there is such a thing as destined love when it comes to the spiritual aspects of life, or maybe it’s just something that we don’t think much about anymore.

Either way, I knew that I was deeply in love with Missy by the end of those two blissful weeks, and she also seemed to feel the same about me. I spent most of my time down there with her, and I met her family a few times. As much as her mother and I didn’t really like each other, I put those things aside for her. Being with her felt like Heaven to me.

But with the time to leave looming before me, I knew that I needed to do something more if I wanted to continue this relationship I was easily building. For that, I decided to take my chances and talk to my father about everything. Of course, his reaction was what I expected.

“Do you even realize what you’re saying Michael?” was his first response to me as we sat together at the table in the large hotel room.

“Yes, I do, and I’m telling you that I love this girl. She’s the one I want to be with, and she feels the same way about me.” I confirmed.

Raphael was sitting near us on the bed, looking at a few pieces of jewelry he’d bought for Maya, “If that’s the case, then it’s okay, but it is kind of quick.” he pointed out.

Dad sat back a little in his chair, looking like he was trying to process this.

“I know how you think you feel, but just stop and think about this Michael. You just graduated from high school. You don’t even have a steady job yet. How do you expect to take care of her if she moves to Maryland with you?” he reasoned.

“I can find a job, and I know I can make enough to take care of us. It can’t be that bad if I work hard enough.” I insisted.

Dad shook his head. He knew full well that he’d never convince me otherwise on this. We’d always butted heads off and on during my life. My mother always said that we had quite a personality clash at times.

“Listen, I don’t care if you continue to talk to her, but you need to stop and take some time to think about this one. Infatuation can be a dangerous thing, especially with what we are, and I don’t want you to end up going through a major heartbreak if this girl changes her mind,” he warned me.

“She won’t do that,” I assured him.

Raphael glanced at me as I stood up, “What are you planning here Michael? You don’t seriously want to take Missy back with us now, do you?”

“Why not?” I responded, “I said I’d take care of her.”

“Absolutely not.” Dad interrupted as he stood with me.

“Why?” I asked him.

“I told you to stop and think about this.” Dad reminded me, “You’re still teenagers, and you haven’t known each other that long. Aside from what her parents would say, all you need is for her to change her mind and leave you high and dry with whatever might come out of this. I don’t know for sure if this girl really thinks she loves you or not, but I won’t let her use you to escape from her family if that’s what she’s hoping to do.”

“That’s not what this is.” I countered.

Raphael slowly stood up from the bed, “Come on Michael. At least admit that Dad’s got good points in this. Besides, we only just graduated. It’s about time we had a little bit of freedom before tying ourselves down with families.” he reasoned with me.

Dad spoke before I could respond to him, “Listen, Michael, I can’t stop you from doing what you want anymore, but I’m also not going to encourage this until I know for sure that this girl isn’t using you. If you go through with this and she leaves, then I won’t be able to do anything to help you with it. You’ll have to learn that lesson on your own.”

“Fine. Then I will.”

I turned and walked out of the room, hearing the door close behind me as I went into the hallway. I admit that I don’t know where I’d suddenly gotten so much bravado. Maybe it stemmed from the new feelings I had. But I was determined that I would be with Missy, no matter what anyone else said.

I was almost to the elevator when Raphael suddenly came after me. He joined me as we went down to the lobby.

“You know, you may be making a big mistake here Michael. Dad does have a point. You barely know this girl.” he was telling me as we got there.

“I know, but I’m willing to risk it. Besides, we just need some time and we’ll be able to figure things out.” I assured him.

“I get it, and I know none of us can stop you with any of this. But just talk to her for now and come back with us tomorrow. See how things go first. If she really does want to be with you, then she’ll come to Maryland when the time’s right. Just don’t rush things.” Raphael reasoned.

I glanced around us as I let out a long breath, “You really think Dad’s going to accept her? He hasn’t really liked any of this since we came here. He’s convinced that she’s trying to use me.”

“I know.” Raphael acknowledged, “But things change, and Dad’s not going to desert you or any of us. Besides, he’s already worried about you. You haven’t shown any sign of getting your wings yet.”

“Don’t start with that stuff Raphael!” I interrupted quietly, “I told you and him a long time ago that I’m not going to change, and I won’t get them!”

Raphael wasn’t bothered by my attitude about this. He probably knew to expect it. But he still tried to reason with me about our current situation.

“I won’t keep arguing with you over that Michael, and I think we all know the truth about the matter. However, think things through with all of this first, and make sure you’re careful. It’s great to love someone, but it’s not okay to let them use you just because they want to get away from their home life.”

I knew that he was looking out for me, just like Dad was, but I was way too strong in my convictions to let any of this go. After promising him that I’d be back in a few hours, I headed out of the hotel and walked the four blocks to Missy’s home. Even though it was now after eleven at night, I felt like I had to see her.

The lights were all off in the house say for one upstairs when I arrived. I was sure that it was her bedroom for the pink curtains in the window, so I walked over to the lattice on the side of the house and used it to climb up to that window.

Missy was in there, sitting on her bed and reading a book as I look in. I knocked, and she looked up and smiled as she saw me, then got up to let me in.

“What in the world are you doing out there so late?” she asked me.

“I had to come to see you,” I answered.

“Get in here before you fall!”

I glanced around her room as I climbed in through the now open window. It reminded me a bit of Gabrielle’s room, decorated with posters and a single bed with dressers and a vanity. A small bookshelf was near her bed as well, with many books that appeared to be romance novels.

“Sorry if I woke you.” I apologized to her as she closed her window again, “I really did want to see you, and I didn’t think about the time.”

“It’s fine. I was up anyway.” Missy assured me. She walked over to her bedroom door and locked it, then to her bed and quietly clicked off the light on the table beside it, leaving the room in darkness except for the moonlight coming through the window, “We should keep our voices down though. Mom and Dad should be asleep, but sometimes Mom is a light sleeper.”

“I get it.” I agreed.

She sat down on the side of her bed, patting beside her, “So, what’s up with all of this? Why did you suddenly want to see me this late?”

I sat beside her, feeling the bed shift slightly under me. Must’ve been an older mattress. But then, things here didn’t look as new as what I was used to, and a lot of this area seemed poorer than what I would’ve thought would live around here.

“Well, I could say that I just needed to see you, and it wouldn’t be a lie. I’d be around you all the time if I could. But I really did need to talk to you.” I admitted.

Missy looked a little pensive now, “What about?”

“It’s nothing bad.” I insisted, “I just felt like there were things I needed to say to you, since my family is heading back to Maryland tomorrow.”

She looked down at the floor, “I know. I wish you didn’t have to go. I’m going to miss being able to see you. I hope you’ll at least call me or write me letters.”

Even if this was sad to see, I still felt like it was a positive sign for me. She really did care about me. She wasn’t insisting on running away with me or anything like that. It would make her feel better as long as I kept in contact with her.

“Well, the thing is, I’ve been thinking about all of that. I don’t like the idea of leaving you like this, even if I know I have to go back with my parents, so I was wondering if you would like to eventually come up there with me. I can get a job and find a place for us to live, and then I can help you come to Maryland to stay with me.” I suggested.

I was hoping that she wouldn’t hear how nervous I was. This was it. This would be the moment where I’d know for sure if she wanted to be with me or had just been stringing me along this entire time.

Missy’s head immediately lifted as she heard me say this, her eyes now excited.

“You mean it? You’d really want to do all of that for us?”

“Of course I would.” I assured her as I turned to her and held her hands in mine, “I was already planning on getting my own place when I got back there, and I can’t see where it would ever feel like home without you. It’s hard enough thinking about how long I’ll have to be away from you. I love you, and I feel like I’ve waited my whole life to meet you.”

It’s partially true when people claim that a love confession can be hard. I was able to put some of my deep feelings into words, but it took a lot for me to say them out loud to her, especially looking into her eyes and seeing her startled reaction. But everything I said was true. I loved her, and I couldn’t imagine my life without her in it.

Missy stared at me for a few long moments before a happy smile crossed her face. I could see tears in the corners of her eyes too.

“I love you too Michael, and I can’t imagine not being with you now either. Even if it takes some time, I want to live with you when we’re able to. I don’t care where we end up going, as long as I’m with you.” she told me.

Relief swept through me. She loved me too. I was sure that she did, and it made me even more determined to carve out a good life for us.

“I promise you, I’ll do everything I can for us to be happy,” I swore.

“It’s okay Michael. As long as I get to be with you, I’ll always be happy.” Missy interrupted. She touched my cheek before leaning over and pressing her lips to mine.

The feel of this first kiss was surreal to me. I loved everything about this moment, and still treasure the memory. This was the first taste of love for both of us, and I still believe it was true love.

“You know, I would like to stay a little bit longer,” I whispered as our kiss ended, though our faces remained closed.

Missy giggled softly, “I want you to. At least let me have a little more time with you before you have to go.”

I spent another two hours there with her, mostly making out before moving into a little more intimate acts. By the time I headed back to the hotel, it was nearly three in the morning. Yet I had no regrets about anything and was already making my plans for when I got home. I knew for certain that I loved Missy, and nothing was going to change my mind about it. One way or another, I was going to build a life with her, even if it took me a while to do so.

My family and I did head home the next day, and I didn’t say anything to anyone about the night before, nor was any more said to me. Raphael knew what time I’d gotten back, but left it alone. He did eventually mention to me that he’d stayed out of it to let me do whatever I thought I needed to. Yes, that was a lot like him back then, and even now to an extent. We didn’t often interfere with each other’s business unless we were worried about something.

I wasted no time when I got home looking for a job, going out the next day, and looking into different places around the area that were hiring. It didn’t take long before I found two. One was as a waiter in the evenings at one of the busier restaurants off of the water in the nearby town of Cambridge, and the other was working part-time as a janitor at one of the old folks’ homes in the same area. No, they were not glamorous jobs by any means, but they kept me busy and I made decent money, not to mention my looks and personality made me rather popular within days of starting. In the restaurant, that also equaled better tips, which helped my savings tremendously.

It took me about four months to save up enough money for a deposit on a nice apartment and to buy the furniture I’d need for it. For their part, Mom and Dad also helped me and Raphael, who had also just moved out, with deposits for electricity and smaller household items. About a week after I moved in, I was able to send Missy the money for a plane ticket too, and as soon as she got it, she was hopping on the next plane for Maryland. I got into my car and went up to BWI to meet her, and all felt right with the world once she ran out of that terminal straight into my arms.

The next few months were some of the happiest of my entire life. Missy quickly found a job working as a waitress in another of the restaurants while I stayed at both of mine, and things remained great between us. I couldn’t say that we had a whole lot starting out, but we were happy enough with each other, although I confess that there were times when I was upset that I couldn’t give her everything I wanted to. But Missy always lifted my spirits by telling me how happy she was and how much she loved me. As long as we could be together, that was enough for her.

Looking back on these days, I’ve often felt that if two people were meant to meet each other, we were among those. The one thing that I never told her about was the uniqueness of our family, but I also felt no need to. I was certain now that I would never get my wings, so there was no need to as far as I was concerned.

While my family didn’t exactly agree with me on that, they let it be. Such things would have to stay between Missy and me, considering she was my girlfriend. I knew that Raphael had told Maya, and she’d accepted it, but I felt like his was a different case than mine. I didn’t doubt he had to explain those scars on his shoulder blades. Yet Maya had been unfazed, only telling him how incredible it was, and that she was so lucky to have fallen in love with a real angel.

Unfortunately, this blissful life couldn’t last forever, no matter how much we all wanted it to. It was right after I’d proposed to Missy, which was about three months after she’d come there, that I ended up getting a phone call in the middle of the night from Gabrielle. I was anything but happy about that one, considering we’d been up late celebrating and had just fallen asleep. Our celebration wasn’t only for her saying yes to my proposal, but for her special news to me.

She was pregnant with our first child.

“Hello?” I answered groggily as I picked up the phone.

“Michael, we have a problem. Noel’s come home.” I heard Gabrielle whisper.

Hearing those words woke me up completely and I sat up in bed in shock.

“What did you just say?” I asked in disbelief.

“You heard me. Noel’s home. She’s downstairs right now with Mom.” Gabrielle whispered quickly. She sounded like she was scared to death.

“When did this happen? Both Dad and Aunt Dot said that they were making sure she stayed in Tennessee!” I pressed her.

Missy was waking up beside me as I spoke.

“Michael?” I heard her say pensively.

I didn’t respond as I listened to Gabrielle speak, “They were, but she somehow ran away and came home. Dad’s beside himself right now. He’s already calling Raphael to tell him to keep Maya away from her. He’s worried about what she might try to do if she sees her, or that Noel might even try to control Raphael again.”

Dad was right to worry about all of that. Raphael was getting married within the next few weeks, and knowing Noel, things might turn ugly once she found out about it.

“Then he needs to send her back!” I insisted.

“He can’t. She’s refusing to leave, and on top of that, we’re both sick now. He can’t just turn her out if she’s getting ready to change.” Gabrielle reasoned.

“What do you mean?” I asked, although I feared I already knew.

“Our wings Michael. My back is so sore right now, and the same thing is happening to Noel.”

This was even worse. I had no intention of telling Missy anything about our heritage, and knowing Noel, she would immediately blurt it out to her, especially when she found out that Missy was pregnant.

“Just keep calm and watch after Mom for now. I’ll call Raphael and we’ll deal with this along with Dad.” I told her.

I slammed the phone down as Gabrielle hung up, cursing under my breath. For as much as I still loved my baby sister, I knew that she was getting ready to make our lives miserable again. I could sense it.

Missy laid a hand on my shoulder, “Michael, what’s going on?” she asked me.

I knew I needed to come up with something quick. There had to be a way to convince Missy that Noel was nothing but very mentally ill. So, I calmed myself down and made sure to think straight.

“It’s okay. Just an unexpected visitor. My little sister suddenly decided to come home.” I answered.

Missy became confused, “Little sister? But I thought Gabrielle was your only sister. You have another?”

“Yeah. Actually, she’s Gabby’s twin, but she’s very mentally unstable. She had a bad incident when she was little that deeply affected her mind. We don’t really pay attention to most of what she says now because it’s all nonsense, but she has caused some trouble before, so my father thought it was better to send her away to our aunt in Tennessee for a while.” I explained.

“Oh. I see. Was she in the hospital there too?” Missy inquired.

“Not really. She just stayed with our aunt because she knew how to take care of her, but I guess she suddenly decided that she wanted to come home and visit. Just be careful around her. Like I said, she can be kind of unpredictable at times, and sometimes she likes upsetting people.” I warned her.

“I get it, but that poor girl,” Missy whispered, leaning against me.

No, I would never trust Noel, especially not around my now pregnant fiancé, so I resolved that I would keep a very close eye on Missy when we went to see my parents. I just hoped that things wouldn’t get bad with Raphael again. I was convinced now that Noel had held some kind of power over him before. Would she be able to do it again?

That question bugged me the next day as Missy and I returned to my family home. I had a feeling of foreboding as I parked in that driveway. Raphael’s car was already there. He’d told me when I’d called him that morning that he wasn’t going to stay away. Maya would be safe with him, and he doubted that Noel would ever be able to manipulate him again.

However, as we walked into the house, we were greeted by the chaos that I remembered so well from three years earlier.

“You will not interfere with anything in this family! Do I make myself clear?!” Dad was ordering.

I spied Noel sitting on the couch with my mother as Missy and I stepped through the doorway to the living room. She was looking at our father passively, even though he looked very angry at her. I saw Maya sitting in the nearby chair, looking at the floor with her hands in her lap. Raphael stood beside her, his hand on her shoulder as he also watched Noel with a stern expression. It was very obvious that Noel had done something to cause more trouble already.

“I didn’t say anything like that Daddy. I was simply stating that I thought it was ironic that I’ve been replaced.” Noel countered, trying to make herself sound innocent. It wasn’t working. Her eyes belied the malice she was trying to hide.

Those eyes looked much darker than I recalled them being before, and there was that sense of coldness hanging in the air of the room. It felt far too much like when I was little and my parents would get into those nasty arguments, and made me even more uneasy about the situation we were now in.

“You were not replaced, so stop saying things like that!” Dad growled.

Noel wagged a finger at him as she shook her head, “Temper, temper Daddy. After all, you shouldn’t upset pregnant women. They are very delicate at this stage.” she informed him.

Maya looked very startled now, “How did you...”

Missy looked just as shocked beside me, and I saw her glance at me as I stood closer to her, squeezing her hand.

Noel continued being smug, “I know a lot of things now. I could tell when you walked through the door.” She giggled as she looked at our brother, “You must be so proud Raphael. You’re going to have your own little family.”

I admit that I didn’t know Maya was also pregnant at the time. I halfway wondered how far along she was. Missy was only eight weeks.

Raphael scowled at her, “Stop it, Noel! You’re only making things worse!”

“Oh Raphael, don’t be so harsh to me. It’s so mean.” Noel chided him. She then turned her attention to me and Missy, “Oh, you too Michael? Well, how ironic, or are you still trying to keep up with Raphael? It does seem pretty convenient that this girl’s pregnant too. Or could you not wait one second to do it with her when she finally came here to be with you?”

I was so mad that I barely noticed the stares we got. We hadn’t gotten the chance to break the news, and Noel had blurted it out in the worst way possible. Yet in the back of my mind, I wondered how she’d know any of this. She shouldn’t have even known who Missy was, although I supposed she could’ve guessed.

“Shut up. You don’t know anything about our relationship.” I countered.

Noel chuckled like she was amused, standing up and straightening the long skirt she was wearing, “You always have been mean when you get called out, but I didn’t expect that one to change.” she stated. She then walked over to brush past us on her way to the stairs, but stopped abruptly beside Missy to whisper to her, “Let me give you some advice sweetie; take your precious baby and run while you still have the chance, or this family will swallow you whole.”

She brushed past her and headed up the stairs, going to what I assumed was her old room. Missy moved closer to me, and I could tell that her words had frightened her, even if she was trying hard to hide it.

My gaze shifted to my mother, who was still sitting on the couch. She was looking at the floor, her eyes looking very tired. Seeing that worried me. What had Noel been saying to her in the time she’d been there?

Dad glared at the stairway before finally speaking, “That’s enough. I’m going to call Dot and see what we can do about this, but for now, just do your best to steer clear of her.” he instructed us.

I could tell that he was very unsure about what to do now, which was also alarming. But then, Noel had this way of bringing that out in him with how disturbing her presence had become.

“What in the world is wrong with her? How did she know about the baby? You said that you didn’t tell anyone.” Maya was saying to Raphael. She looked upset now. The shock had finally worn off.

“It’s okay Maya. I told you before that she’s just very damaged, and she can be good at guessing sometimes. I’ll make sure she doesn’t do anything, so don’t worry about her.” Raphael reassured her.

I found out that evening when I talked to Raphael in private that Noel had threatened Maya when they’d arrived. She’d said something about her and her child being lucky if they survived her giving birth. Then she’d begun ranting about ‘angel spawn’ until our father had walked in and heard it.

Maya already knew the family secret, considering the fact that Raphael had told her once their relationship turned serious and he knew they’d end up marrying, so she didn’t mistake Noel’s words or what sounded like threats. She’d become very fearful for her unborn child’s life, even more than her own.

As for Missy, I was able to keep these things from her with Raphael and Maya’s help. I’d requested to them back when Missy was coming to be with me not to tell her anything about the Nephilim heritage our family had, and they’d promised me that they wouldn’t.

Maya was the one who talked to her later while I was talking to Raphael, and she told her some of the truth about Noel. As far as Missy ever knew, Noel was simply very mentally ill. She’d had a lucky guess about her pregnancy because she knew about Maya’s. She also told her about Noel’s kidnapping as a child, and the abuse that she’d suffered. Missy broke down crying when she heard about that, saying that she couldn’t imagine the pain Noel must’ve been going through in her head even now from such a horrible thing. This in turn gave her more of an understanding of Noel’s disposition, and she was able to accept that the incident was just frightening, not truly harmful.

However, I wasn’t about to let her excuse Noel’s hostile behavior toward her or Maya. If she wanted to stay there now, then she’d have to accept them. They were going to be our wives and the mothers of our children.

For a while, it seemed like Noel did just that, although she mostly stayed away from us, hiding away in her old room at home. But it was right after Raphael’s wedding a few weeks later when tragedy struck, one that shaped our family for years to come.

I had just walked into my apartment after getting off work at the nursing home when my phone started ringing. Since Missy was still at her job, I set my coat aside on the couch and answered it. I figured that it was probably Raphael calling to talk to me about the business deal we’d been working on. Dad had finally decided that it was time to share our portion of the family inheritance, and he’d wanted to guide us as we looked into a few business ventures.

At the time, Raphael and I had also been discussing the possibility of investing some of the money into the stock markets, which Dad also was supporting. He’d made some good money from doing that too, and felt like it was the best route to building our wealth aside from what he planned to leave us when he passed away. Raphael was definitely interested, but I’d been a little cautious about it, asking them to give me a little more time to look closer at the markets before I decided what I wanted to invest in.

However, when I answered this call, it was not Raphael on the other end of the line like I’d been expecting. It was Maya.

“Michael?” I heard her whisper.

“Maya? What’s going on? Is everything okay?” I asked her.

I could feel the knot forming in my stomach as I slowly sat down on the couch. Not only did Maya usually not call me, but she also sounded like she was about to break into tears.

I heard her draw in a shaky breath before she answered me, “Michael... it’s... your mom. She’s... dead.” she squeaked out.

My entire body stiffened as I heard this, my mind unable to comprehend it. That wasn’t possible. My mother couldn’t have been dead.

“What...” I somehow forced my voice to work, “What do you mean? How could Mom be dead?”

Maya was crying now as she tried to answer me, “We just got a call from Gabrielle. She was crying, and she told me that your mother was dead. She said she’d killed herself.”

I again could barely comprehend what she was saying. My mother had taken her own life? That couldn’t have been. My mother was such a strong woman, so sweet and loving. She’d never been even remotely suicidal in her life, and she had been so happy in these last few years, not to mention incredibly excited that she was going to be a grandmother. I couldn’t count how many times already she’d told me and Raphael that she couldn’t wait to hold her grandchildren. There was no reason she would’ve ever ended her life like this.

“Michael, are you still there?” I heard Maya say after a few minutes of silence.

“Yeah, I’m here.” I choked out. It was getting harder and harder for me to speak as the lump in my throat grew.

“Can Raphael and I come over with Gabby? We’re going to bring your dad too. We should all be together right now.” Maya continued, a small hiccup escaping her.

I felt tears running down my cheeks as I unconsciously nodded.

“Yes, please, and make sure Dad comes. I need to see him too.” I whispered.

I was barely able to hang up the phone before the cry of pain escaped me and I collapsed to my hands and knees on the floor in front of me. I’d never felt such raw anguish as I did at that moment. My mother was dead. The mother I’d loved so dearly and been so close to was gone forever. It was almost too much for me to take, and I sat there for almost twenty minutes trying to calm myself as this grief poured out of me.

Even looking back now so many years later, that anguish still feels raw inside of me. The only other time in my life that had even come close to matching it was when Missy died. I still do my best not to think about either of their deaths when I can help it. The emotional toll will probably always try to break me.

Missy arrived home just as I was starting to pull myself together a little, and had been alarmed to find me like that. It took me quite a bit of effort to tell her what had happened, and she began crying with me. We sat together with her holding me until my family finally arrived, which was within half an hour.

While Raphael had brought our father and Gabrielle with him and Maya, my father seemed like a shadow of his former self from the moment he’d come through the door. In fact, me and Raphael had to help him when he stepped in to keep him from falling to the floor in grief. He was completely devastated over what had happened to our mother. We managed to get him to sit in the nearby armchair, where he wept openly. This was the only time since what had happened with Noel when we were children that we’d ever seen our father cry like this, and it was just as heartbreaking as our mother’s death.

During that time was when I learned more details about what had happened to Mom. They were as devastating as when I’d found out she’d died.

It was Gabrielle who had found Mom that afternoon. She’d gone to our parents' room to check on her after she’d noticed that a record was playing in there over and over, and she’d thought that it was a strange song for our mother to listen to because it was so sad. She didn’t see our mother in the room when she’d entered, and she’d called her name when she noticed the bathroom door was closed but didn’t get an answer. This had worried her, and she’d checked the door. It was unlocked, so she’d opened it to see what Mom was doing.

That was when she saw the horrific scene that would forever haunt her. Our mother was lifeless, hanging from the shower rod by a noose she’d made from an electrical cord.

Our dad had just come into the house when Gabrielle started screaming, and he’d rushed up there to see what had happened. As soon as he saw Mom, he grabbed Gabrielle and pulled her out of the room, telling her to call for help while he tried to get Mom down.

But it was too late for him to help her. Her heart had already stopped, and the paramedics confirmed that she’d been dead for at least an hour.

It took us all another hour to pull ourselves together enough to start thinking again, although a grim reality was also setting in. It was Dad who spoke about it, sitting in the chair with his elbows on his knees and hands folded under his chin. His blue eyes were still very light from where he’d been crying, and his voice came out a little hoarse.

“So, your youngest sister is nowhere to be found, huh?” he stated quietly.

“We can’t find a trace of her.” Raphael confessed, “I called Aunt Dot, and she hasn’t heard anything from her in over a week, and I don’t know of any way to get a hold of her. I asked some friends to check around the towns for her too, but they haven’t had any luck. It’s like she’s just disappeared.”

Dad let out a long breath, closing his eyes, “Disappeared, huh?”

Gabrielle wiped her eyes with shaky hands as she sat between Missy and Maya, “You don’t think that Noel had something to do with this, do you?” she whispered.

“We know that she’s lost it, but she’d never hurt Mom, even if she refused to get along with her.” I tried to reason.

Dad exploded then, slamming his fists on the side of the chair so hard that it made us jump.

“Don’t make excuses for that girl! We all know what she’s done before, and this is exactly what she wanted! She hated your mother as much as she hated me!”

Gabrielle started to sob again. Seeing this, Maya slowly stood up, coaxing her up as she held her arms.

“Missy, can you help me take Gabby outside? I think she could use some air.” she gently suggested.

“Sure.” Missy immediately agreed, getting up with them. The two then guided Gabrielle out of the apartment.

Raphael waited until they’d left before trying to reason with our father. We both knew that he was deeply in grief right now. He might not have fully comprehended some of what he was saying.

“Please, Dad. Just think about it. Even if Noel had some control before, she wouldn’t have killed Mom with it. She might not have gotten along with her, but she never pushed things to where she’d hurt her.”

Dad wasn’t having any of it, “Bull shit,” he growled, “She hated your mother just as much as she hated me. She’s always blamed her for what happened to her back then, and she targeted her as soon as she came back. I know she made it a point to constantly be around here. She used your mother’s love for her to drive her to this.”

As much as we hated admitting it, Raphael and I both knew that he was probably right. It was just a bitter pill for us to swallow. For as much as Noel pushed everyone, we’d never thought that she’d ever do something like drive one of our parents to suicide.

I finally managed to speak, “But if she did cause this, then we can’t do anything about it now. She’s disappeared.” I pointed out.

“I know.” Dad took a deep breath to recompose himself, “But even if she does come back, I’m done. I can’t deal with her anymore. It’s obvious that she’s completely turned on us now, and I won’t let her put our family in any more danger for her demented state of mind. If this is how she has to be, then I have no other choice but to disown her and give up.”

We knew that it was hard for him to say this, just as much as it was for us to accept it. Our father had never stopped loving Noel and wanting to help her, and neither had our mother, no matter what had happened before. I don’t believe that he truly stopped wanting that or loving her after this either. It was just easier to try and let her go than to think of any of us being hurt too.

Mom’s funeral was a week later, and there was still no sign of Noel. I confess that none of us were looking for her there, nor did we even expect her to show up. That was one of the hardest days of my life, and the memory of our father standing beside our mother’s open casket for most of the funeral remains etched into all of our minds. He loved her so much and losing her was like losing a part of himself.

Another week passed, and we eventually began helping him go through Mom’s personal items. It was mostly Missy and Maya doing that, considering that Raphael and I were still working to support our households. Neither minded doing this job either, considering that they wanted to help my father in any way that they could. He’d also thrown himself back into his work, which we all believed was a distraction so that he wouldn’t have to be home and face the reality that Mom would never be there with him again.

However, this in turn would lead to another horrifying incident for us, and it was one that almost completely ruined my and Missy’s lives.

At the time, I had begun working part-time as a waiter at one of the higher-class restaurants in a neighboring town in the evenings, and it was bringing in good tips for us to put away extra money for when the baby was born. That evening, I’d been there for about an hour when my manager called me to the back.

“Michael, you need to get to Memorial Hospital right away.” he’d told me.

My blood ran cold as I heard this, the memories of my mother’s death leaping to the front of my mind. Had something happened to my father now? I knew that he was still deeply mourning my mom. Had he done something drastic to be with her?

“Why? Did they say what’s happened?” I asked quickly.

“It’s your wife. They had to take her to the hospital because she’s been in an accident,” he explained.

I was immediately grabbing my things and rushing out to my car, and my mind was spinning as I sped to the hospital. What in the world had happened to Missy? What kind of accident was this? And, most importantly, what about our baby?

Missy was about five months pregnant with Mia at the time, although we didn’t know yet that she was going to be a girl. With any kind of accident, it was always reasonable to worry about the baby growing inside of their mother. I was praying that ours was okay.

I arrived at the hospital in what I would call record time. As soon as I got there, Maya and Gabrielle were meeting me outside. Raphael was on his way too, and so was our father.

After getting me calmed down, we were able to talk to the doctor about Missy’s current condition. Thankfully, she was doing okay, and the baby was fine. It was a moment where all of us were openly thanking God. At least we weren’t about to suffer another sudden and tragic death.

It was after everything calmed down that Maya began telling us the odd circumstances behind what had happened to Missy. She had been at the house with her that day, and explained how they had been going through some items that our mother had stored in the attic. Since a small box was full, Maya had taken it outside to place it in the car for her and Raphael to keep. That was when she suddenly heard a loud crash.

She looked up immediately as she heard this, watching in horror as Missy came flying out of the attic window and landed hard on her back in the grass of the front yard. Of course, Maya panicked and raced into the house to call 911 before hurrying back out there with her.

But the most chilling part of this was what Maya claimed to have seen as she stayed with Missy waiting for help to come. She swore that she’d seen a figure moving away from the shattered glass of the window when she’d looked back up there. It was a figure that cemented her fears of what had just happened.

That figure had been Noel.